Ellis Leon Clymore was born on a farm outside of Chelsea, Oklahoma on Nov. 21, 1935. His family moved around a lot before settling in Oklahoma from the 5th grade through 2 years of college. The family became members of the Church of Christ when he was about 12. He went to Church of Christ related colleges in Oklahoma and Arkansas. He met Lou at Harding College, Arkansas. They were married in Sept., 1958 and they left for Zambia, Africa in Dec., 1958. Three children were born in Lusaka, Zambia. They moved to Malawi and stayed there in evangelistic work for 5 years. They returned to California in 1972. Leon was pastor of the Church of Christ in Riverside, California for 6 years, then resigned and became a computer programmer. They moved to Atlanta in 1979 and have lived here since. Leon went to Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur for 3 years. Then he became a minister/administrator in the Atlanta Union Mission, becoming the founder/director of the recovery program for men at the Mission, having been certified as an addiction counselor. He retired in 2004. Then later began teaching English to immigrants for 8 years, part-time. He fully retired in 2015. He and his wife were members of the Oakhurst Baptist Church for 20 years (Lou still is there). They have 3 adult children and 6 grandchildren, all living around the metro Atlanta area (except their son and wife who are living and working in Antigua, an island in the Caribbean.) Leon enjoys reading theology and novels, playing pickleball, exercising, studying Spanish and helping Lou in the garden.
“Monsters, Saints, and the Space in Between: Changing How We Talk about Violence and Trauma”
Christine Ristaino is a professor at Emory University, where she teaches Italian literature, culture, and language classes. She has co-authored an academic publication entitled Lucrezia Marinella and the “Querelle des Femmes” in Seventeenth-Century Italy through Farleigh Dickinson Press as well as the first edition of a book series called The Italian Virtual Class, which teaches language through cultural acquisition. She currently teaches a creative writing-focused class on Italian memoir, as well as co-teaches a class comparing Italy and China through the medium of food (noodles in particular).
Ristaino is also an Atlanta author whose memoir, All the Silent Spaces, published in July 2019 by She Writes Press, was a 2019 Best Book Awards Finalist in Social Change as well as Women’s Issues. Her book confronts the topics of violence, identity, and discrimination. She writes and publishes articles, essays, OpEds, and non-fiction, and presents her work in various forums throughout the U.S. and abroad. In addition, Ristaino has published articles in the Guardian, Pacific Standard, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and the Atlanta Journal- Constitution on child advocacy, coping with violence, and topics around diversity. Ristaino participates in efforts around social justice, education reform, and violence prevention. She is an award-winning advisor and teacher and has experience organizing powerful symposiums, seminars, conferences and events. She leads workshops on the topics of diversity, equity and inclusion, privilege, coming to terms with violence through memoir, writing and talking about difficult topics, and creating a public voice.
Because the First Existentialist Congregation has temporarily suspended our Sunday services, our Celebrations of Life, effective March 13, Franklin has graciously given his talk, “Self Soothing and Social Compassion” on Facebook Live and may be viewed again at: https://www.facebook.com/counselingandcreativecoaching/videos/345366846377505/
Franklin Abbott has been a practicing psychotherapist in Atlanta for nearly forty years. He is also a poet, musician, community organizer and amateur oral historian. His connection to the Congregation and Old Stone Church goes back more than 40 years to early urban radical faery gatherings held in the sanctuary before First E became its steward. He has spoken at First E many times, performed music and poetry there, and coordinated events and memorials.
“This is the Moment You Are Created For: Finding Our Political Strength”
Rabbi Joshua Lesser leads the dynamic Congregation Bet Haverim as a place dedicated to celebrating all aspects of Jewish life and creating a spiritual home that balances the needs of a diverse community. He served in the first Teach for America Corps in New Orleans, founded the Rainbow Center, a Jewish response to LGBTQ people and their families. He is the co-editor of the groundbreaking book Torah Queeries: A Weekly Commentary on the Hebrew Bible. He was named one of the 36 most influential rabbis in North America in 2013 and listed as one of the 100 most notable LGBT clergy in America by the Huffington Post. Throughout his tenure at Bet Haverim, Rabbi Lesser has worked with a wide variety of groups and coalitions to build a better community for Atlanta by focusing on building bridges between diverse communities as demonstrated through being a founder and past president of the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta and serving as the co-chair of Georgians Against Discrimination. Serving as the chair of Reconstructionist movement’s Tikkun Olam Commission, on the board of Georgia Equality and the Chair of the City of Atlanta’s Human Relations Commission, he is dedicated to human rights for all.
Rev. Marti Keller is a self-identified Jewish Unitarian-Universalist, who looks often at the Jewish source of our living tradition for inspiration and aspiration. She co-authored “Jewish Voices in Unitarian Universalism” (Skinner House 2014). She has served on the Board of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. She has served for the past 20 years as both a parish and community minister. Her own grandparents passed through the Golden Door before it was mostly shut tight.
Dr. Jean Heinrich, passionate human being, licensed clinical psychologist, musician, is nourished by existential philosophy in these times. Believing her knowledge of existentialism and the human psyche/mind/body/spirit make her a better musician and her music makes her a better clinician, and, both her knowledge and music make her a healthier/more vital human being, she invites you to join us as she speaks on: “Existentialism: Choice, Change, Courage”.
“100 years of celebration of voting rights for women; Still fighting for voter rights for all”
Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D.
Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia where she taught in the Doctoral Clinical Program for 28 years and was the first Senior Faculty Associate for the Task Force for the Advancement of Women. In 2012, she received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Lynchburg College in Virginia.
She has been in private practice in Clinical Psychology for over 33 years and was a co-founder and faculty member of the Gestalt Institute of Georgia, President of the Southeastern Psychological Association, along with being a national and international speaker.
In 1978 Dr. Suzanne Imes and Dr. Clance wrote an important academic article on the Impostor Phenomenon which continues to gain world-wide attention.
She is one of the Founding and a long-term member of the First Existentialist Congregation. Pauline believes that the First E is needed more now than ever at this time in our country.
“Finding Our Way Back to the Positive Aspects of Black Culture & Heritage”
Dianne Valentin
Dianne
Valentin is the mother of four, grandmother of ten, and has over
thirty years of experience assisting small businesses and nonprofit
organizations with their business needs and working directly within
the community, private industry, and public education sectors. As a
political scientist with training in the areas of international
affairs and national defense, Dianne has used her training and
education when advocating grassroots and progressive issues on
Capitol Hill. She has had issues related articles published in a
major news outlet.
Dianne
is the founder and CEO of the Black Heritage Museum & Cultural
Center, Inc. (BHMACC) Founded in 2005 and established as a nonprofit
organization with federal tax-exempt status in 2006. Whose mission
is to document and preserve Black heritage, culture, and scholarship
and use it to encourage, empower, and uplift current and future
generations through scholarly engagement, art, and artistic
expression, while cultivating critical thought. Our vision is to find
our way back to the positive aspects of Black heritage & culture.
Since
its inception, the BHMACC has help over 3,000 marginalized and
low-income students get into college. It does its work in the areas
of arts, culture, education, social justice, environmental justice
and stewardship.
Dianne
works with national, state, and community nonprofit organizations
providing strategic advice, technical assistance, program
development, community outreach, and community organizing support.
During
her corporate career working for an investment banking and accounting
firm Dianne and her team managed the assets of twenty-six financial
institutions with asset values ranging from $25 million to $10
billion, she managed the staff of asset managers, financial services
and accounting representatives, researched and brought to resolution
federal agency investigations, Congressional Inquiry and FOIA
requests received directly from Congress related to those managed
institutions, developed and initiated uniform training procedures for
the handling of client issues. As a Senior Analyst for a government
agency she was responsible for the analysis of negotiated contracts
to insure commitment integrity and that the negotiated contracts fell
within the guidelines for that financial product.
Dianne
appeared before President Barack Obama’s Blue Ribbon Commission on
America’s Nuclear Future to present her views on nuclear weapons,
nuclear waste, and how they impact environmental and racial
injustice. Dianne acted as editor of a climate report that has been
presented to and accepted by the U.N. and the Pope.
Dianne
is serving as President of the board of directors of a statewide
women-led peace, environmental justice, political empowerment
nonprofit organization, is serving as Chair on a national, women led
United Nations recognized NGO, formerly served as founding President
of an Atlanta based legal advocacy nonprofit supporting girls and
women dealing with sex discrimination and abuses in the education and
workplace settings. Dianne is a former President of the board of
directors of a women’s health center.
Dianne
has been honored with a United Nations’ National Human Rights Award
and a National Grassroots Activist Award by a national organization
comprised of organizations from all over the country.
“Racial Healing: The Next Step in Our Collective Psychological Liberation and Racial Justice”
Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC
Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC is an award-winning social justice scholar and community organizer. She is a Professor and Associate Dean of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the College of Education at the University of Georgia, and a program faculty in the counselor education and supervision doctoral program. Her research, practice, and advocacy explores the resilience and liberation experiences of trans people, people of color, survivors of trauma, South Asian immigrants, and social justice and empowerment training. Dr. Singh has co-authored texts on trans and nonbinary counseling (A Clinician’s Guide to Gender-Affirming Care and Affirmative Counseling and Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients), in addition to the Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook and the Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing. In 2009, Anneliese co-founded the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition to work on the intersection of heterosexism, racism, sexism, and other oppressions in Georgia schools. She also founded the Trans Resilience Project to translate findings from her nearly 20 years of research on the resilience that trans and nonbinary people develop across the lifespan and across multiple identities to navigate societal oppression.
Franklin Abbott has been a practicing psychotherapist in Atlanta for nearly forty years. He is also a poet, musician, community organizer and amateur oral historian. His connection to the Congregation and Old Stone Church goes back more than 40 years to early urban radical faery gatherings held in the sanctuary before First E became its steward. He has spoken at First E many times, performed music and poetry there, and coordinated events and memorials.
